Bling and Sports Don't Mix

A young girl caught my attention while I was swimming last weekend. She was wearing long, dangly earrings and a necklace. I kept imagining that she might catch one of those earrings on something and rip her ear piercing. This didn’t happen while I was there, but it was certainly a possibility. There is a logical reason why bling is prohibited by most sports and recreation organizations and events.

Injuries can occur when jewelry worn by a player comes in contact with other players. This can happen in football, soccer, hockey, basketball, martial arts and other sports. Players wearing watches, rings, bracelets or other jewelry pieces might cause serious injury during such contact. Injuries can also occur when jewelry comes in contact with sporting equipment such as gym equipment, gym walls, park fences, swimming pools, balls, racquets or other equipment. Jewelry can also case blisters, bruises or cuts when worn during play.

Rules should be established regarding jewelry, generally prohibiting all jewelry during sport and recreation activities. Rules are only as good as their enforcement and so it is important to make sure that the policy is strictly enforced. Unless a player or participant removes all jewelry, he or she cannot play.

With the popularity of piercings, athletes commonly wear jewelry on all parts of their body, including ears, eyebrows, noses, nipples, tongues, and other body parts. These piercings are not usually removed and so it is necessary for coaches, and other personnel to pay attention to whether or not the athletes are wearing any jewelry, including piercings, at the beginning of play and make sure that it is removed. Sometimes, athletes wear items that might also cause harm even though they might not be considered jewelry. For example, a girl might have an ornamental hair band that could cause injury. Such items should also be prohibited.

Hopefully, with rules prohibiting jewelry and with consistent enforcement, jewelry related injuries will be eliminated or significantly reduced.